Mew're my neww Treasure
by angeliza8i8
Summary: One slip, and Nepeta Leijon falls overboard. Only to be saved by an arrogant boy with black hair, violet eyes, and... are those gills? NepetaxEridan, Catfish fluffy-stuff. Piratestuck/Humanstuck.
1. Chapter 1

This was originally going to be just a one shot...but it soon took a life of it's own. Three days of nonstop writing, and now I have about 5 chapters of catfish fluff. I love KarkatxNepeta, almost as much as my OTP, DavexJade, but Eridan and Nepeta are just too adorable, and well, Catfish needs more love. Inspired by a friend of mine, audakita, and her tumblr, (look her up!)

Humanstuck, Piratestuck, Catfish.

Please read, review, and (hopefully) favorite.

(Please forgive me for my lack of knowledge on ships and pirating.)

Nepeta stood on the prow of the Signless, letting the salt water-laced wind wrap itself around her, whipping her short blonde hair across her face, and blowing her oversized jacket behind her like a cape. She loved this, the feel of the ocean breeze, the view of the seemingly endless sea meeting the endless sky, it was home. The Signless and her crew, was Nepeta's home. It was small, with a crew of only seven, *even if one of those seven was strong as an ox*, but it was surprisingly fast and strong for it's size. So much so, that it and it's small crew could take a ship three times it's size...HAD taken down ships three times it's size.

"LEIJON! STOP DAYDREAMING! THE WIND'S CHANGING! GO MAN THE SAILS!"

Nepeta spun around, grace and a natural sense of balance keeping her from falling overboard, and stood at attention comically.

"Yes sir, Captain Karkitty, sir!" she shouted back with a smile before running over to climb the mast to man the sails. Captain Karkat Vantas shouting at her angrily as she went. He yelled a lot, had to, most times, in order to be heard over waves and storms among other things, and yelled the rest of the time either out of habit, or due to his short temper. Despite the yelling, though, he truly cared for his crew. The captain was kind, and honorable, and Nepeta was honored to be a part of his crew.

The rungs were wet with seawater, and the mast rocked as the ship sailed, but Nepeta was a natural climber, which was probably why she kept getting this job. From her spot on the mast, she took a moment to glance down at Karkat, blushing when he caught her gaze, and looking back at the mast in embarrassment as she climbed to the next rung. From the first time she'd met the captain, she'd been smitten, a fluffy feeling that only grew as she got to know him better. He was lithe, with fierce bright red eyes, and shaggy, mahogany hair that blew like darkened flames in the bright sun. Nepeta loved him, had for as long as she could remember, but the feeling was unrequited. It was nearly impossible to hide anything on a small ship with thin walls, and it was no secret that Captain Vantas and his first mate, Terezi Pyrope were...well...something.

Nepeta also knew that the captain knew how she felt. She'd always been bad at hiding things, and as stated before, small ship, thin walls. Besides, although he'd never straight out say anything about it, Nepeta could catch him glancing at her, sometimes. A look of pity on his face.

"I don't need pity," Nepeta attempted to hiss, but sadness laced her words, like the drops of salt water on an ocean breeze. Still, she continued her climb, new determination spreading through her.

She would never give up on her captain Karkitty, ever.

Her distraction, however, caused her to slip on the next slippery rung, and Nepeta fell off the Signless' mast and into the sea, engulfed by it's salty waters.

Nepeta had always known she'd regret refusing Terezi's offer to teach her to swim. She had acted stubbornly though, refusing to take lessons from the girl who had what she never would; the captain's heart. It was an unreachable treasure, one she had tried so hard to earn no matter how hopeless it had seemed. It was too late for that now. Nepeta could no longer feel anything now but the fire in her lungs as they begged for air. Their desperation forced her to breathe, and her lungs filled with the sea. She knew she was sinking, even as her vision slowly faded to darkness. She was going to die here, in her beloved ocean, without having so much as held her "treasure" even once.

"Maybe…" she thought, as everything finally faded to black, "...I should have searched for a new treasure."

It was again, however, far too late.

She awoke gagging, spitting out salt water and bile.

A large, wet hand held back her short hair as she did.

"Careful, blasted land-dwweller! Don't get your spit on me!"

The words were harsh, their tone even harsher, but Nepeta could not recognize the voice, it had a strange accent, sort of...waving.

Waves…

Nepeta's back arched, and she heaved out all that was left of her partially digested breakfast, then continued to dry heave some more.

"Gross!" the voiced shouted in response, disgusted, but the grip on her hair tightened, and another large, wet hand awkwardly patted her back in an attempt at comfort. Afew minutes later, Nepeta felt a little better, and drank some seawater to get rid of the taste of bile before turning to see the source of the voice. He sat a foot away, at the edge of the shelf of rock she was laying on, all but his upper body in the water. He had removed his hands some time ago, once she had stopped puking. Now he sat back, inspecting her much like she'd seen her captain inspect a particularly complex map. His gaze seemed to judge her, yet, somehow, it seemed more curious than disdainful. His eyes flicked up, and his violet eyes locked on her olive ones.

She felt her blood rush to her cheeks, and the boy frowned, wet black hair falling in his vivid eyes. Nepeta tried to break away from his strangely intense gaze, but his hands grabbed the sides of her face.

"Are land dwwellers supposed to do that? That pink thing?"

Nepeta pulled away, grabbing his wrists and yanking his hands away from her face.

"Why are mew…" her sentence was stopped short when she noticed something about his hands;

They were webbed.

That's it for chapter 1!

Yes, my humanstuck Nepeta will always be blonde.^^

I've got the whole thing writtian on paper, but I'll be typing it up chapter by chapter throughout the week. The next chapter of "Mew should smile more!" will be a bit late, but ah well. hope you enjoyed this introduction-chapter 1-thing!^^


	2. Chapter 2

Ok people! The spacers separating my comments from the story, as well as the ones separating the parts of chapter 1 got destroyed somehow. Hopefully, it won't this time. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Lotsa lovve,

~angeliza8i8

Shocked, Nepeta released his hands, and crawled away from the edge of the rocky shelf. Eyes wide, she studied the boy from this distance, searching for other abnormalities. Gills on his neck and waist rose and fell as if breathing, fin-like ears stood out to the sides of his head, and his skin was pale to the point of almost being translucent. Fearful, and very confused at these new discoveries, Nepeta hurled the nearest hard object she could find, (a rock) at him.

"Stay away!"

The boy's violet eyes widened, and he dove underwater to escape the well-aimed blow that probably would have broken his nose. As he dove, his tail fanned out of the shallow water…

...a fish tail…

..._his_ tail…

HE. HAD. A. TAIL.

Scared out of her wit's, Nepeta then curled into a ball and folded her arms over her face; This could not be real! People didn't have tails! This was silly, it had to be a joke or something! People with fish tails only existed in fairy tales! In dreams! That's it; this was a dream! It had to be! Just a big, scary, really confusing dream that she had to wake up from! Wake up! Wake _up_! WAKE UP!

"Um... it's not a dream."

Nepeta peeked out from over her arms, and saw that the boy had resurfaced, and she, in her panic, had been thinking out loud. Now she was almost as embarrassed as she was freaked out, and Nepeta ducked her head back down, clutching her arms tighter.

"I...I'm…" The boy kept pausing between words, splashing a bit as he shifted in the water, an obvious strain in his voice, as if it was difficult for him to say, "...I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean ta scare ya! Cod! I was just makin sure ya wwere ok! I'vve nevver seen one of your kind before…"

A little less frightened from his display of discomfort, Nepeta raised her head.

"The feeling is mew-tual."

"So, the pink thing...wwhat wwas that?"

"Blushing."

"Flushin?"

"The 'pink thing' is called; blushing."

"Oh, 'blushin'," The boy cocked his head, "and those things? Wwhat do ya call 'em?"

With a long finger on his webbed hand, he gestured to her legs.

"Those are my legs."

"Legs…" the boy repeated again, testing the word on his tongue, "...so, um...ya ok?"

"I'm fine meow, thanks." Nepeta smiled, all unease erased by the fish boy's curiosity.

"Meoww?"

"Meow, like, 'now', get it? I like cat puns."

"Cat… do ya mean catfish?"

"No, I mean…"

...and so the day went on. Nepeta explaining things like cats, boats, and pirate crews to the curious mer-man.

Nepeta soon found herself enjoying talking to the strange boy, in what she soon discovered, was a subaquatic cave. It was nice to have someone to talk to when you are so far away from home. The boy's curiosity far outweighed his arrogance, and not far into the conversation, his arrogance was replaced by endearingly childish wonder. He was asking so many questions, she could hardly keep up, but she found it so amusing she often had to stop mid-answer due to large bouts of giggles.

"So, the captain is the creww's leader?"

"Purrtty much."

"So, wwhat is your captain li…" The boy was interrupted mid sentence by a large growl erupting from Nepeta's midsection.

"Glubbin Cuttlefish!" He yelled in surprise, splashing backwards a few feet, "Is that narwwhal!?"

"Yes, it's 'normal'," Nepeta said, calming the boys ruffled...er...fins, "It just means I'm hungry, is all. Would mew mind getting me some food?"

"Of course," he scoffed, some arrogance returning, "but only 'cuz I'ma bit peckish myshellf."

He dove back underwater, and Nepeta watched his shimmery white tail with violet fins as it swwayed through the clear waters…

_Swayed_, she meant _swayed_.

How long had she been in here, anyway? Her crew had to be looking for her by now. Nepeta got up, walking around to check her surroundings. There was a way in, oblviously, the boy had brought her in that way, after all.

Whoops, she forgot to thank him for that! He was a bit rude, and arrogant, but he had been kind enough to save her, and get her food. Even if there was another way out, she could hardly leave without thanking him. That would be too heartless.

She walked back to her little "spot" on the rock shelf by the water, and sat back down. That would have to do for now, but that was ok, it had felt good to stretch her legs a little, anyway. Nepeta decided that she would eat, thank the mer-boy, than search for a way back to her crew. It would be hard to find them, but she was already missing home. Besides, they probably thought she was dead. She didn't want them to have to worry for much longer.

Suddenly, her thoughts were disrupted by something breaking through the water in front of her.

Sorry it's a bit short. But I hope you all enjoyed it! Chapter 3 will be up soon!^^

As usual, read, review, and (hopefully) favorite!


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, destroyed my spacers again… I'll keep trying until it doesn't... I guess…

Anywhoos, here is were mermaid Eridan resides, and pirate Nepeta roams...Read on if you wish to encounter both!

As usual, read, review, and (hopefully) favorite.

…

Nepeta jumped backwards, reaching for another weapon (rock) as she landed.

"Relax, it's just me," the boy grinned, "Got ya some grub."

She relaxed for a second, until he held up the "grub"; A long, slender heel that writhed in his hand, flickering with electricity in his grasp.

"I can't eat that!"

"Wwhy the glub not?" He asked, frowning.

"Well, firstly, I'd have to cook it, and there's no dry wood here… so I'd have to eat it raw, and that, well…"

Nepeta stared at the writhing electric eel, trying to find the right words.

"That does not seem like a good idea."

The boy caught her tone, then stared at her, expression puzzled.

" Land dwwellers ain't immune?"

She hastily shook her head.

"Can you eat crab then? Wwithout wwood?"

"Wwell...whoops! I mean, 'well', I'd have to boil it, so…"

"Boil, got it!" he immediately dove back under water, not even giving her the chance to finish. He returned a few minutes later, a large grin on his face, and a large crab in hand.

"That looks furry tasty, but how am I going to…" Nepeta was interrupted again by the boy, as he, still grinning, splashed water like crazy, all over Nepeta and the rocks around her with his powerful tail.

"Hey! What is the purrpose of this!? Stop it!"

"Quiet dowwn," the boy replied, grin widening, "Ya may wwanna back up, by the wway, ya knoww, since you're not immune."

Nepeta shut her mouth, and backed away from the edge of the shelf, sitting back down where the ground was bone dry. She watched, wide-eyed, as he tossed the crab into a large crevice in the rock, now filled with water from his splashing. Then, he began to flicker…

...just like the eel.

"One boiled crab coming right up."

The flickering intensified, making his smiling face apear very eery. Violet electricity flickered through his long, elegantly webbed fingers, and the strands of his wet black hair. The bright violet current reflected off of his shimmery white skin, causing his entire body to glow violet. The boy peered up at Nepeta, smirking, then dipped his hand into the crevice with the crab. The water began to bubble on contact.

The crab spasmed and twitched, desperately trying to climb out of the crevice as it was boiled alive. Electricity flickered through the water around him, lighting up the cave with violet lights. They danced and flickered across the walls that had been covered in water droplets from his splashing. Nepeta sat there, stunned, and barely out of the violet current's reach.

She felt bad for the crab.

Eventually, the jerky movements of the crab stopped, and a little later, the flickering violet energy retreated, returning back to the strange boy, and disappeared. The boy tossed her the stiff crab, still smirking rather smugly.

"There, freshly boiled."

Nepeta caught the crab on reflex, then stared down at it in silence, getting over the shock, before finally saying;

"What was that?"

"Wwhat wwas wwhat?" The boy answered, voice full of fake innocence.

"Mew know what I mean!"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't, who knowws? Ya should try being more specifish."

"The violet electricity!"

"Oh, that's wwhatcha mean," He shrugged, mock-nonchalantly, " Just another wway wwater dwwellers are better, is all."

He dove back underwater, and came back up holding the eel again. It writhed and hissed, trying to bite his hand, or arm, or any part of him it's teeth could reach.

The boy just reached out with his other hand, snapping the eel's spine and killing it so quickly, it still flickered with electricity. He then raised it up into the air, dropping the eel so that it slid directly down his throat. Swallowing, he turned to grin at Nepeta.

"That's wwhy I'm immune."

She tore a crab claw from it's joint, and tossed it at the boy's arrogantly smiling face. He, of course, dove back underwater and avoided the blow. Once he came back up, however, Nepeta stuck her tongue out at him.

"Bad fishy."

He just chuckled, and she began to eat her own, way less disgusting food in a way less disturbing way. The boy watched her intensly as she did, but by then, she was used to his gaze. She was, however, surprised when he soon asked another question, as if his brutal murders of sea creatures had not even taken place.

"Your teeth ain't vvery sharp, are they?"

"Guess not, but we 'land dwwellers,' or whatever mew call us eat meat and plants."

"I prefer meat."

The boy gave his reply with, for the first time, a smile that revealed all his teeth in their razorsharp glory.

"Meow mew're trying to creep me out."

"Maybe."

Her response was to throw an empty piece of crabshell at his face.

This time, it hit, and he winced at the impact. Nepeta braced herself for anger, for screaming, but all he did was a hand to the place of impact, look up at her, and smile warmly.

"Some arm ya'vve got there."

She could not help but smile back.

….

I wanted to show how warm Eridan is, as well how dangerous he is in this chapter. Seriously, he is not troll!Ariel from the troll version of the little mertroll or whatever, if anyone, Feferi is troll!Ariel (and troll!Ursula as well, cuz she's a witch. So she'd like, give herself legs or something). Sollux is troll!Eric, Karkat's lusus is Sebastion, and Eridan is troll!Poseidan, with a sharp trident and a nasty temper…

(For more on the troll version of little mermaid, please read Be the Seadweller Lowblood, it's awesome

.^^)

Anywhoos, yeah, Eridan is a (little) violent…

...But I think he's better like that? I don't know, you people tell me in your reviews…

dangerous mermaid Eridan, like/hate.


	4. Chapter 4

So, yeah, no comments on dangerous mermaid Eridan…

Ah well.

The "..." spacers seem to work, so I'll keep using 'em.

Anywhoos, here's chapter 4! Read, review, and (hopefully) favorite!

….

Nepeta silently chewed another piece of crabmeat, thinking carefully before swallowing and finally saying what was on her mind;

"Thank mew, by the way."

The mer-boy's violet eyes widened with surprise, and he answered cautiously.

"Wwhat for?"

"Fur saving me."

His eyes went back to normal, and seemed to study her expression, almost as if to make sure she was for real. When he spotted nothing out of the norm, (for a land dweller, anyways), he shrugged.

"Eridan Ampora."

"Wwhat? I mean, what?"

"My name," he stated both with pride, and with hesitation, "Is Eridan Ampora."

Nepeta smiled, "Well, thank mew furry much for saving me, Mr. Ampurra."

At the sound of her purring his name, Eridan's eyes grew wide again, and seemed to turn a shade pinker. He dropped his gaze before Nepeta could tell for sure, though, and Nepeta found herself dropping her gaze as well in embarrassment. Blood rushing to her face. She was surprised to find that the fin on his tail, formerly violet, had also turned a shade more pink. Not soon after, however, the pink faded back to violet, and Eridan cleared his throat.

"Eh-hem."

She looked back up, blushing a deep red after realising that she had stared at his tale far too long for comfort.

"I think…" Eridan began once he had her attention, voice still cautious, "...this is wwhen ya tell me your name."

Whoops!

She'd been too busy staring at his tale to introduce herself!

Nepeta brushed off the empty crab shells, and walked over to the edge of the stone shelf. She sat down on her knees, and reached out her hand.

"I'm Nepeta Leijon, pleased to finally be furmally introduced to mew."

Eridan stared at her hand, confusion shadowing his face, he began to splash his tale nervously in the water.

"Wwhat am I supposed to do with this?"

"Mew shake it."

"Um, ya mean like…"

He grabbed Nepeta's arm and shook it hard, almost ripping her arm out of socket. She winced, and pulled his hand off her arm.

"Not the arm, mew shake the hand, and not so hard, please. I'm furry fond of my arms."

Eridan pulled his hand away, a worried expression on his face.

"It's ok, just be meowr gentle."

Slowly, he reached out again, gently grabbing Nepeta's hand and shaking it.

"Just like that! Good job!"

"Wwhat is the porpoise of this again?" Eridan asked, expression relieved even though his voice was not.

"It's a way of greeting. Don't water dwellers greet each otter? Sorry, I mean, 'other'?"

He smiled a little at the accidental fish-pun, but his voice and eyes were bitter.

"Wwe ain't exactly a 'friendly' race."

"Then why?"

"Huh?"

"If you aren't friendly, then why did mew save me?"

Eridan opened his mouth to answer, but his answer was never heard, for just then, the cave began to shake. Nepeta was thrown onto her side, and stones fell from the ceiling, or broke from the cave walls.

"Quickly! Take a vvery deep breath, Nepeta!" Eridan shouted urgently over the roar of stone. Nepeta did as he asked, and he grabbed her, pulling her down into the water.

…..

Cliff Hanger!

Hanging from a cliiiiiiiiifff!

And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger!

…

...What?

Nobody else watched "Between the Lions" as a kid?

XD

Sorry it's short! I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway!


	5. Chapter 5

Hi, everyone!^^ Chapter 5 is finally done, and ready to read! Yes, when mermaids are embarrassed, their eyes and fins get more pink according to exactly how embarrassed they are. I just thought I'd clarify that from last chapter.^^

I came up with that at random.

Kinda like the electricity thing.

Anywhoos, as usual, read, review, and (hopefully) favorite!

….

Nepeta felt the water push and shove them as more rocks fell from the roof of the cave. Eridan held her tightly to his chest, fighting to keep them in the same spot with his powerful tail. She could feel the vibration of his heart beat under her cheek, and, even though they were underwater, Nepeta could feel her face heating up at the thought. Which was, she scolded herself, incredibly stupid given that this was a life-or-death situation.

Eridan wasn't having these stupid thoughts! He wasn't blushing over feeling her heartbeat! However, then again, mermaids didn't blush… Nepeta recalled how his eyes turned pinker before, and looked up at Eridan. Were his eyes pinker? She couldn't tell. He looked very focused, very intune to his surroundings. Yeah, he probably wasn't having any stupid thoughts at all. Eridan glanced down, probably to see how she was holding up, and to make sure she was ok.

Nepeta almost released the breath she was holding.

His eyes WERE pinker.

When he saw her expression, Eridan quickly looked away, once again trying to keep himself preoccupied with keeping them alive. So, she wasn't the only one who was stupidly embarassed, good to know. As long as they didn't allow their embarrassment to distract them, and, say, GET THEM BOTH KILLED, everything should be fine and dandy.

Nepeta really wanted to punch them both upside the head.

They were so obviously going to die.

They were gonna die, they were gonna die they were gonna die theweregonnadietheyweregonnadietheyweregonna…

Eridan swam up, lifting her above the surface of the water. The shaking and rock falling had stopped, and they were alive…

...for now.

However, Nepeta was "vvery shore" they were eventually going to die.

Eridan helped her climb on top of a pile of boulders that had landed on the stone shelf, then dove back underwater. A few minutes later, he came back up again, angrily splashing his tail as he cursed a blue streak.

"Ampurra? What's wrong?"

"The blasted underwwater passage is buried!" He hissed through sharp, gritted teeth, "I can't get out!"

Nepeta crouched down, thinking hard.

"Can mew breathe out of water?"

"Wwell, yeah," Eridan admitted, "But I shore as glub can't get anywwhere! Either wway, I'm stuck in this cavve."

Nepeta stretched out a hand; "Grab on."

"Are ya out a your glubbin brain coral!? I 'm useless out of the wwater!"

"Mew carried me here, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So now, let me carry mew!"

"Let a land dwweller carry me? Nevver!"

"Well," Nepeta began mischievously, "I suppose I could just leave mewhere until the tide goes down, and mew're flailing about like a wet noodle…"

"FIN."

Eridan sat back on his tale, crossed his arms, and glared at Nepeta angrily.

She couldn't help but giggle.

"Wwhat are ya laughin at?"

"Mew're pouting! Just like a kid!" She said, purring as she giggled.

Eridan's eyes turned a shade pinker.

"I most certainly am not!"

"Yes mew are!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"No mew are not!"

"Yes I am!"

"Glad there's something we can agr33 on."

"Wwait...wwhat?"

Nepeta cracked up laughing, and continued to laugh even as she helped Eridan climb out of the water, his eyes even more pink than ever before. She was laughing so hard, she could barely breathe! Once Eridan was out of the water, however, she made an effort to stop. Nepeta needed to get a grip, their lives were after all, at stake here. She breathed in deeply, stiffling her giggles…

...until she caught sight of a very out-of-place Eridan flopping and flailing about on the rocks.

Her laughter returned, and she reached down and scooped him up, bridal style, and he flipped his tail about abit, haplessly, his eyes and fins turning from pink to scarlet.

….

Another short chapter…

I thought this was a five chapter story, but since most of the chapters are pretty short, I guess it'll wind up being about 8 or 9. Ah well, I'm still proud of how this story is going.

"Mew should smile more!" is probably not going to get updated "fur" awhile, though.

I hope you guys liked chapter 5!

Look forwards to the next chapter!

(Mermaid Eridan can survive going on land because I'm basing my idea of a mermaid Eridan on the idea of a water dweller without horns, but with a tail instead. So he's strong and stuff, like a troll, and probably nocturnal to, and since water dweller Eridan can survive on land, so so can mermaid Eridan. About the only thing I added was the electricity thing.^^)


	6. Chapter 6

Hi you guys! Sorry I haven't been posting of late, psats got in the way. They completely through me off. I noticed after I posted the last chapter that you guys commented in the reviews on my mermanEridan! Thank you so much, and I'm glad you guys like him. I must warn you, though, merman Eridan is alot harder to take seriously out of water…

...besides that, though, once again, I love you all! I can't believe I have 15 followers on this story alone! It's so -EXCITING!

38)

Heh, couldn't resist.

Anywhoos, as per usual, read, review, and (hopefully) favorite.

(btw, I'm cosplaying Feferi at A-con this year. My friend is going as Sollux, and one of her friends is going as Eridan...oh the shenanigans that shall ensue!)

…

Step by step, Nepeta carried Eridan to the back of the cave.

Sheesh, he was heavy for a skinny fish-kid! However, being a pirate required no small amount of strength, she may have been slender…

...but she was also lean and strong.

"There may be a way out of the cave this way."

"Ya are a bit, umm…" Eridan fidgeted a little in Nepeta's arms, "...stronger than ya look."

"Thanks!" she replied, before giggling and jokingly adding, "...and mew're heavier than mew look!"

Nepeta slouched comically, carrying him close to the ground as if he weighed a thousand tons.

"It's mainly tail muscle.

Eridan scoffed as he spoke, voice managing to be both proud and defensive all at once. She straightened her back, and held him to her chest.

"I'm just joking with mew! I've lifted cargo heavvier than mew! Whoops, I mean heavier, not heavvier, of course…"

Nepeta frowned.

"Mew are rubbing off on me too much, Ampurra."

"Noww you're pouting." Eridan pointed out, making an attempt at a joke. However, both looked away, suddenly interested in other things, Nepeta's cheeks matching the pink of Eridan's eyes. They continued in silence.

later

After what seemed like hours, and the calming of raging embarrassment, later, Nepeta was now heading through a narrow path she'd found. Eridan still held to her chest. The path had seemingly been uncovered when the cave had shook, and the sides of the path were sharp and cold. Nepeta had to fit sideways to fit Eridan through, and the stone still cut into her back. She did her best not to wince, or drop the pale fish boy because of the pain, but her sudden jerking when a slab of rock cut through her shirt, combined with the narrowness of the path…

...she kept accidently bumping him against the walls.

For all his whining and complaints, though, Eridan did his best to be useful. Curling his tail around her to try and take up as little room as possible. Really, though, he was completely out of his element, an average fish out of water. Pun intended.

Nepeta bit her lip to keep from giggling as she rounded a corner. The fish puns were reel-ly starting to grow on her.

Get it?

REEL-ly?

Wow, that was corny.

She let out a long breath, and attempted to start another conversation with Eridan.

"So, I've told mew a lot about myself...How bout mew? What are mewr friends like?"

"...I had one…" Eridan answered slowly, "She wwas the princess of the sea dwwellers, actually, but she wwas much kinder than the rest. She wwas fascinated by ya land dwwellers, kept swwimming near the surface, wwatching boats pass by. There wwas a big storm, and a ship crashed. She savved one of the guys on it. Turns out, the guy wwas some sort of prince, and she fell in lovve with him. She used her powwers to groww legs, and wwent the surface to be wwith him. Just ran off, didn't evven bother givvin a flyin fish 'bout wwhat it'd do to me. I havvn't seen the gill since."

"Mew sound furry bitter about it."

"I lovved her, but I nevver got the courage to say it, not until it wwas too late..."

Eridan got suddenly quiet, and the sentence hung in the darkness around them. They stayed quiet as Nepeta walked for a very long time.

….

Short chapter is short.

Sorry! Just like, one or two more chapters to go until the conclusion, though!

Also, shame on you, Nepeta! You should have known better than to bring up friends with Eridan! No matter what universe he's in, or what species he is, over dramatically angsty Eridan is a universal constant!

XD

On a (slightly) more serious note, read, review, and (hopefully) favorite!^^


	7. Chapter 7

Hi again, everyone! Sorry again for the long wait! I really do try to post chapters every 3 days, I do! Really! Any whoos, this chapter is a little short too, so it's going to take longer to reach the end than I thought.

You guys can see how my Feferi cosplay is going here:

* blog/crazyshortgirlsfirstcon*

Whoo! First a-con! So exciting!^^

….

Nepeta could not stand the silence.

Not with so much bitterness hanging in the air like that. She had to say something, anything to make the bitterness go away, to make Eridan's bitterness go away…

...and maybe some of her own as well.

She continued walking down the narrow path, holding Eridan as far away from the sharp wall as she could.

"Mew know...we're not so diffurrent."

Eridan stared up at her quizzically.

"Ya're a land dwweller, I'm a wwater dwweller, please explain howw the glub wwe ain't different."

"I loved some one too."

Eridan quieted almost instantly.

"I nefur had the courage to tell him, either. Now I'm here, and he's back on the ship, with the girl he loves...and I may nefur even s33 him or the ship efur again."

"Look at us," Eridan snorted, "Twwo pun-lovving idiots too stupid to do anyfin but mess up."

"Puns are fun, though!" Nepeta laughed.

Eridan chuckled, "Ain't that the mewwth."

Nepeta's laughter turned into a fit of pleased giggles.

"Mew just made a cat pun!"

Eridan looked up at her again, a small, but honest smile on his face.

"Look's like 'meww're' rubbin off on me, too."

She smiled, her steps feeling lighter, however, Eridan was beginning to feel heavier…

….

After many hours, and a lot of cuts and bruises later, the path finally widened into a large cavern. By then, Eridan felt as if he was made of lead, and Nepeta's arms were cramped. Her blouse was tattered and soaked with blood in the back, and her legs felt as though they were about to fall off right out from under her. She could barely stand as she dropped Eridan into a puddle on the cavern floor, eliciting some very loud complaints and a few creative curses. Nepeta didn't even falter, she just walked wobbily over to the wall, and collasped against it.

How long had she carried him? Howw long had she been walking?

You could tell time by the position of the sun or moon, but their wwas neither dowwn there. She wwas too wworn out to evven correct her thoughts. Eridan was splashing himself with water with his tail.

"Ah, it feels glubbin good ta be wwet again."

"Can meww please splash some ovver here?" Nepeta asked weakly, voice so quiet, it wouldn't have even have been audible if it hadn't been for the echo of the cave, "I'm boiling."

"Ya're not goin ta correct yourself?"

"Too...tired…" Nepeta yawned like a kitten, curling into a ball at the foot of the wall. Eridan splashed her a little with his tail, and whispered as quietly as he could muster;

"Swweet dreams, kitten."

Nepeta thanked him before falling into a hazy sleep.

…

"LEIJON!" An angry voice shouted, right before the owner delivered a swift kick to Nepeta's ribs, "GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OFF THE GROUND RIGHT NOW!"

Nepeta groaned, rolling away from the offending feet with yet another kitten yawn.

"I SAID GET UP!"

She groaned again, rising slowly to her feet, and standing at attention. Saluting the man before her before she even realised what she was doing. Lazily, she opened an eye before the realization hit her, and both her eyes opened wide.

"Captain!? What are mew doing here!?"

"I'LL EXPLAIN LATER," Kakat crossed his arms, "RIGHT NOW, _YOU _HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO."

The captain stepped to the side, pointing at the object of his confusion. Nepeta had to peek around him a bit to see what it was, but once she saw, both hands flew to her mouth.

There was Eridan, still in the puddle she'd dropped him in, surrounded by the fearsome weapons of her own angry crew. He caught her gaze, and raised an eyebrow jokingly, even as his voice shook a bit with fear.

"Ya mind explainin ta them that I wwasn't goin ta eat ya?"

….

I was hoping to make this chapter longer, but this cliff hanger is the perfect place to end this one. Eridan has just found himself on the wrong end of alot to pointy objects, and Captain Karkitty is back.

I hope you all liked this chapter! As usual, read, review, and (hopefully) favorite!^^


	8. Chapter 8

Hi again, everyone!

I can't believe this has reached 20 followers!^^

I love you guys so much~

Sorry this update is so late!

Anywhoos, this story is sadly going to end soon...but you get more yelling pirate Karkat until then! So, yay!^^

As usual, read, review, and (hopefully) favorite!^^

….

It took alot of explaining, and even some puppy-eyed begging, on Nepeta's part, to get the crew to lower their weapons. Eridan piped up every now and then to add more detail into the parts including himself. For example, how he heroically and mercifully saved her, and how he was kind, and gracious enough to get her food, etc. The crew, however, even after lowering their weapons, still kept them in hand just in case Eridan tried anything…

...fishy.

Heh heh.

Karkat rubbed his chin in thought.

"SO, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED, HUH? AFTER YOU WENT OVERBOARD, WE WERE SURE YOU WERE DEAD."

Karkat turned a bit to glare at Nepeta.

"KANAYA, EQIUIS, AND TAVROS WERE FREAKING OUT! YOU REALLY NEED TO LET TEREZI TEACH YOU HOW TO SWIM!?"

Nepeta nodded in silence, if there was anything she had learned from this little "adventure", it was that she needed to learn how to swim. She would ask Terezi for lessons as soon as they returned to the ship. Karkat noticed the nod, and actually managed a tiny smile back at her before taking a deep breathe and continuing.

"SINCE WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD, WE HEADED FOR SHORE, HOPING TO AT LEAST FIND YOUR BODY FOR A DECENT BURIAL, BUT WE RAN INTO SOME TROUBLE…"

"Whiskers." Nepeta commented, frowning, trouble and that women always seemed to come hand in hand.

Now, Karkat nodded, "CAPTAIN VRISKA SERKET OF OUR RIVAL SHIP, THE MINDFANG. WE RAN INTO HER ALONG THE SHORE, AND GAVE CHASE. WE TOOK THEM BY SURPRISE, AND IT TOOK THE BUG AWHILE FOR HER TO EVEN GET HER CANONS SHOOTING BACK AT OURS. THE IRON BALLS WERE FLYING EVERYWHERE."

That explained the rocks falling in the cave; some stray cannon balls must have hit it.

"BUT WE EVENTUALLY RAN THEM INTO THE CLIFFS. HER CREW ABANDONED SHIP, AND SO DID SHE. TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO EVEN GO DOWN WITH HER SHIP LIKE A PROPER CAPTAIN."

Karkat practically growled as he spoke from Vriska's display of dishonor.

"ANYWAYS, THEY ALL SWAM ASHORE, AND WE TIED THEM ALL UP, SERKET INCLUDED. ARADIA AND TAVROS ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON THEM RIGHT NOW."

Kanaya gracefully stepped forward, and put a hand on the captain's shoulder.

"Perhaps I Should Tell What Happens Next, Captain. It Was My Discovery, After All, And Your Voice Is Getting Very Hoarse."

Karkat stepped back, and let her take over. His throat still very sore from shouting battle commands over canons and sea during the battle earlier. Terezi patted him on the back in comfort, and he granted her a weary smile. Kanaya hugged Nepeta tightly before continuing where Karkat had left off.

"Oh, I Was Absolutely Going Mad With Worry, After The Mindfang's Crew Was Tied Up, I Scored The Beach For Any Sign Of You!"

She released Nepeta from her hug, her elegant face seemingly glowing with relief. Nepeta smiled back warmly at her friend, and gave Kanaya a fast squeeze. Kanaya was motherly by nature, and was forever worrying and fretting about the crew, and rightly so, given the dangers of the open sea. Yet she kept a cool head, and took care of them all, stretching herself insanely thin to help them all any way she could. Nepeta admired that about her.

"Eventually," Kanaya continued on, "I Discovered That One Of Our Stray Cannon Balls Had Hit The Rocks So Hard, It Created Another Entrance Into This Very Cave. Once I Informed The Captain, He Gathered Up Most Of The Crew To Form A Search Party, And We Entered The Cave…"

…

Yay! Kanaya!

:D

Sorry for yet another short chapter, but I thought I've made you guys wait long enough.

Look forwards to the final chapter!

It'll be a doozy!^^


	9. Chapter 9

Finally...The last chapter! This one took longer to type because it's a decent length for once.^^

Oh, and guess what? My wig came in! It's black, it's long, it's curly, and I love it~3

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this final chapter!^^ As usual, read, review, and (hopefully) favorite!

…

"Where we located you and your e%ceptionally fish-like new friend."

The words came from a voice far deeper and stronger than Kanaya's, and Nepeta rapidly turned around to find it's owner.

"Equius!"

She was overjoyed to see her closest friend again. It seemed like so long ago since she had last seen her dear, sweaty dufus, but really, it'd only been this morning, hadn't it? She was no longer sure, after all that had happened, her memories seemed hazy. Equius glared at Eridan in a very intimidating manner, then finally turned back to her.

"I am...very glad we were able to find you…" Equius hesitated before adding, "...alive, of course. I would have been very displeased to find you otherwise."

"And I'm furry happy to see mew!" Nepeta laughed, throwing her arms around her friend, "100%!"

"100%..." Equius repeated, hugging back as gently as he could manage with one arm, while patting her even-messier-than-usual blonde head with the other.

He'd always been awkward, even when they were kids. He was constantly growing taller and stronger and never seemed to have a full grasp of how to control his long limbs or his insanely superhuman strength. However, he was kind...all of her crewmates were. She was lucky to have them. They were the best friends...no, the best family, a girl like her could ask for, and everyone of them, like her, called the Signless home.

Family...that's what they all were.

Somehow, Karkat no longer seemed like an exception.

The realization of this struck her like violet electricity.

So many things had happened that day...so very, many things...and in all that chaos, she hadn't noticed it, but her love for Karkat was now...not gone, exactly. It was...sort of...calmed. Like the waves at the end of a big summer storm at sea. She loved Karkat, but not anymore than she loved the rest of her crew...the rest of her family. The romantic love she once felt was now more like how she loved Equius, more like how she'd love a brother. The realization was much less shocking than she ever thought it would be, and that realization was followed by another…

"Equius?" Nepeta asked, sliding out from her friend's strong grasp, grinning ear to ear, "can mew help me put Mr. Ampurra back into the ocean?"

"Gladly."

Equius scooped Eridan up, much to Eridan's horror, and threw the scaley youth over his shoulder. They left the cave side by side, Eridan complaining loudly all the while.

…

Once their little group reached the shore, Equius promptly chucked Eridan into the water, enticing much cursing and angry fish puns from the mer-boy. Nepeta reached out, tugging the end of Equius' shirt. He looked down at her, and Nepeta looked up at him to meet his gaze.

"Can mew leave me alone with Ampurra? Just fur a bit?"

Equius' brow wrinkled with worry, and he hesitated to leave.

"I'll be fine, I purrmose," She smiled up at him warmly, "I'll call fur you if I need any help."

Equius remained stone still.

Nepeta understood.

"I'm not going anywhere, Equius."

Equius awkwardly shuffled his feet, leaving marks in the sand, "I realise that...it is simply that I just found you again…and I do not know your aquatic friend well enough to trust…"

Nepeta reached out to squeeze his arm.

"I know. I'll be carefur."

"Are you abso100tely certain?"

"Yes," She gave her friend a fast hug, "100%."

Equius smiled, patted her gently on the head, and finally left, turning back to see her every now and then as he went to reassure himself of her safety. She turned to Eridan as soon as Equius was out of sight, and sat down on the dry sand. The sun was finally going down after a very long and hectic, but adventurous day. Eridan swam up as close as he could , laying down on his back in the shallow water, looking up at Nepeta.

"Wwell," he began comically, "Today shore has been somefin, hasn't it?"

"It has," Nepeta laughed, "but mew nefur answered my question."

"Wwhat question?"

"Back in the cave, befur the rocks fell, I asked mew why mew saved me."

"Ww-wwell," Eridan stammered, "I, um...oh cod, this is embarassin...ya're gonna think I'm a creep…"

Nepeta cocked her head, smirking, "If boiling a crab alive, a mouth full of fangs, and magic lightning pawer don't scare me off, I don't think this 'swill' either."

Eridan smiled nervously, the fish pun easing his nerves a little.

"I wwas just swwimmen around, looking for...somefin. I don't remember wwhat it wwas, it seems like so long ago…"

He fidgeted, his tail sending ripples through the water.

"...Then I saww ya...fallin into the wwater, and I...I don't knoww…"

He took a deep breathe, even though he didn't need his lungs to breathe, then continued.

"...but nomatter wwhat, I kneww I couldn't let ya die…"

Eridan pulled himself up, then sat up on his tail so that most of his body was out of the water, and he was closer to Nepeta.

"...I didn't _wwant_ ya to die."

He looked away, but Nepeta had already seen his eyes change in the fading light of the sun from violet to a deep shade of pink. She smiled, grabbing his face in both of her small hands.

"Are water dwellers supposed to do that?" She joked, "That pink thing?"

"Y-yeah." Eridan stopped trying to look away, and met her eyes, moving his face closer.

Neither one knew who started the kiss, and neither one truly cared.

As they did, Eridan pulled Nepeta into the water, closer to him, and they stayed like that. Kissing and holding each other close until long after the sun had gone down and Nepeta's clothes had soaked through.

….

THE END.

Happy ending! Weeeeee!

The best part is this is now my very first completed, multi-chaptered fanfiction!

They grow up so fast!

For more cute, fluffy, lovey-dovey gunk, read "Mew should smile more!".^^


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